


Looking for the answers in the pouring rain

by Artemis Crocs (hotwheels_kin)



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: (eventually ok), Canon Rewrite, Everyone is LGBT, F/F, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Friends to Lovers, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Mutual Pining, No Smut, Slow Burn, Some Swearing, artemis and wally bicker but they are actually friends, fyi i don't like sup3rmart1an so there's some mild negative commentary there, some violence but nothing more than what's in the show really, they just get to be normal people for a second
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-04
Updated: 2018-04-04
Packaged: 2019-04-18 11:44:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14212431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hotwheels_kin/pseuds/Artemis%20Crocs
Summary: Zatanna is struggling with missions since her father became Doctor Fate, and Artemis just wishes her father was anyone but Sportsmaster. Z decides to take a break from missions and visit her cousins, and she invites Artemis to come with her. AKA they both have big fat crushes on each other and aren't doing anything about it... yet.





	1. Ironic Arrow

**Author's Note:**

> (( an fyi, the first chapter is a prologue and takes place right after "Secrets." The next chapter takes place some time after Giovanni Zatara becomes Doctor Fate ))

“Secrets don’t stay buried. Obviously.” Zatanna looked Artemis in the eye, pleading for her to say something. She didn’t need a spell or M’gann to read Artemis’s mind to know something major was up. All night the two had been chatting and fighting side by side, but Z still felt locked out by the many walls Artemis had built around herself. She liked the parts of Artemis she got to see. She was a clever, determined fighter that Zatanna admired. Yet she knew there was more to the archer than that.

“I don’t have any secrets,” Artemis replied and dropped her eyes. She knew Zatanna wouldn’t buy that. But she wasn’t ready, not for… that. She had finally found a family that she could trust, and she wasn’t about to plant that seed of doubt in their minds. She wanted so badly just to belong, and she did, at least for now.

This Halloween night had been liberating for her. She had forgotten what it was like to just roam the city and stand up for the little guy like she used to with Green Arrow. Being part of the team was great, but sometimes Artemis felt like the weak link. Yet with Zatanna, she felt balanced. Her shooting and hand to hand combat skills gave Zatanna time to whip up a spell to tie someone up or disarm them. It had just been good clean fun and ass kicking.

And maybe it helped that Zatanna was kinda cute. Artemis had gotten used to having Superboy around for eye candy, but now she felt gross about it. Zatanna was so refreshing. She had a look in her eye that made Artemis think she was a troublemaker, but in every adventure she had proven her heart to be warm and noble. It almost let Artemis forget why she had been angry in the first place.

It wasn’t that she was jealous of M’gann and Superboy. There was just something off about them. M’gann seemed to have her eyes on Superboy from the start and wanted to sculpt him into her dream boyfriend. But Superboy had a host of his own issues to deal with.

Zatanna saw a range of emotions flash across her friend’s face and decided not to press anymore. Her dad always told her to be patient when learning a new spell, but she’d never been very good at waiting. Action was her preferred method, just like Artemis when it came to fighting crime, but apparently not so when dealing with personal issues. The two rode back to Mount Justice in silence, Zatanna sneaking an occasional glance at Artemis to see how she was doing. Their little escapade definitely seemed to cheer her up, so Z felt like she had done her part. She thought she caught Artemis looking back at her once, but she turned her head too fast to know for sure.

As they pulled up to the entrance, Artemis turned to Zatanna and opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a giggling M’gann pleading to tell them some story about how she had pretended Martians invaded their party.

“But M’gann, they did invade if you were there?” Zatanna questioned, making M’gann laugh even harder. Artemis forced out a chuckle as M’gann was whisked away by Superboy, his mummy costume looking even more abysmal than before. Zatanna caught Artemis rolling her eyes and added that to her mental file on Artemis.

“Hey Zatanna?” Artemis twirled a piece of hair around her finger and dragged her eyes away from the giddy couple.

“Yeah?”

“Thanks. For taking my mind off things for a while. Thanks for hanging out with me. I’m sorry I’m such a grumpy person, and I appreciate you putting up with me.”

Zatanna waited for her to continue, maybe start letting herself relax and trust her, or something, but then realized she was lucky to get a real wholehearted thank you out of Artemis. The way she tried to downplay it made Z think this was not a normal occurrence.

“You’re totally welcome, Artemis. You are a bit of a grump.” Artemis feigned offense at that, but let her continue. “But I didn’t ‘put up’ with you. I had a great time! Though I would’ve preferred it if our friend Harm did a little less harm to us and the surrounding neighborhood… It was really fun, Artemis, seriously. Thank you for being my… Partner in Crime Fighting.” Zatanna grinned.

“Wow Zatanna, that’s really cheesy.” Artemis crossed her arms and teased her.

“Do you have a better name for us as a crime fighting duo?” Z tilted her head.

“…No.” Artemis replied, only slightly defeated. “I’m not good with names. My real name is actually Artemis.”

“Wow.”

“I know.”

Zatanna paused, trying not to laugh. “You should change it to Ironic Arrow.”

The phrase made Artemis finally let out a laugh. Not like the fake laugh earlier at M’gann, but a hearty, warm sound. They had hung out for hours, but Artemis hadn’t laughed like that all night. Zatanna felt her cheeks go a little warm as she smiled back and pushed her hair behind her ears. There was a quick moment of silence as Artemis caught her breath and they just looked at each other. She had never told anyone that before.

Z broke the silence when she felt her phone buzz. “Oh god, six missed calls from my dad… I’m sorry Artemis, I have to run. I’m so grounded again, ugh.” She tried to text back and apologize, but there was no getting out of this one. 

“Oh, that’s okay,” Artemis leaned back on her motorcycle and played with the seam on her sleeve.

“I’m really sorry!” Zatanna called amid spells turning her outfit back to something normal and fixing her hair. “But like, we’re gonna do this again sometime, okay?” Artemis looked back up at that.

“Yeah!” She smiled again.

Zatanna jumped in the Zeta-Tube and waved. “Bye, Ironic Arrow!”

“Bye, Partner-“ but Z had disappeared before Artemis could finish. She sighed and looked down at the floor, still smiling. It had been a good time hanging out with Z. If she wasn’t so worried about other things, it probably would’ve been great. She could get used to having girls’ nights out.

“Woah, what was that all about?” A voice distorted by the crunching of chips came from the other side of the room.

“Shut up, Wally.” If there was one thing that helped with Artemis’s bad mood more than punching bad guys, it was telling KF to shut his pie hole. She heard the chip bag rustle and more disgusting noises before he mustered up a reply.

“Hey, I was just going to make an observation, but I guess...” He paused to dump the crumbs from the chip bag into his mouth. “If you don’t want to hear it, I can just go tell M’gann, Rob, Supes, and Kal instead.”

“Wally I swear-“

“Okay, okay. Chill.” Wally crumpled up the bag and attempted to toss it into a trash can, missing miserably, but he sprinted and alley-ooped his own shot. He dusted off his hands and squinted playfully at Artemis. She breathed a very quiet sigh of relief. Kid Flash was a force to be reckoned with, but at least Wally West was pretty harmless.

Artemis turned away from him and entered the zeta tube. As she arrived in Gotham, she already had forgotten Wally and was thinking of the way Zatanna had smiled wryly as she said, “Well, we did blow up the kitchen.”


	2. A Rumored Balance of Sweet and Salty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (( post Giovanni Zatara becoming Doctor Fate)

Artemis was angry. Nothing was unusual about that, but this time it wasn’t because she was sick of Red Arrow’s condescension, Cheshire’s jabs, or Sportsmaster messing with her head. This time, she was mostly just mad at herself. Every single day she walked past Zatanna’s new room in the cave, and every day she almost knocked. But what could she even say to Zatanna to make her feel any better? Artemis knew nothing about losing a father figure, since she never really had one in the first place. She didn’t want to make Zatanna feel like a pity case, only getting attention because her dad was gone. Artemis knew what that felt like at least. She had gotten into the habit of telling her school friends that her parents were dead rather than in jail or off smuggling technology for supervillains and had heard more empty apologies than she cared to admit.

Still, she knew she should do something. M’gann had been learning to cook Zatanna’s favorite pasta dishes. Robin helped her put up all the posters she had in her old room. Wally even ran all the way to New York and back to bring Zatanna a babka from a little bakery she used to live by (of course, buying himself one too for a snack on the way back).

On a quiet Tuesday afternoon, Artemis found herself in front of Z’s door once again. She kept yelling at her hand to grab the handle, but it refused to listen. She stood there for a solid minute before deciding she should probably just go. She was wasting time now. She sighed and took a step back just as the door swung open. Zatanna almost ran straight into her.

“Oh hey, Zatanna! Whatcha doing?” Artemis rolled her eyes internally at herself for acting cheery.

“Hey Artemis. Um, I was just gonna go to the kitchen and grab something to eat.” Zatanna’s eyes flashed up at Artemis and then returned to floor. She was wearing a bulky sweatshirt and her hair looked like it had been in the same bun for a while. She looked so small all of the sudden. 

Shit, this is it. Artemis thought to herself. No dodging now. 

“Wanna go out to get some food? There’s this diner in Happy Harbor that I’ve been to a few times with Wally that has great milkshakes!” There is was again, that fake cheer. Why did she have to act excited? Why couldn’t she just be normal? 

Zatanna’s fingers emerged from the depths of her sweatshirt sleeves She glanced back into her room for a moment, and Artemis noticed that it still looked kind of sterile, minus the unmade bed and a few food wrappers.

“Yeah, sure.” Zatanna answered, finally. She forced a smile and closed the door gently behind her. 

“Cool, cool. It’s not far so we can walk if you want.” Damn it, Artemis wanted to kick herself after everything she said. _Cool, cool? Really?_ She chewed on her lip, trying not to let out an exasperated sigh. Z nodded and the two headed off. 

Happy Harbor Diner was a tacky, fifties themed place on the highway near the edge of town. After a half hearted argument, Artemis paid for two milkshakes and two large fries. They sat down in a corner booth to avoid an obviously awkward date happening at the counter. 

Z was a little in her head. She knew she should say something, but it just took a lot of effort to come up with a topic. She could ask Artemis about school, but she didn’t know what kind of an answer she’d get because of secret identities and all. She could talk about missions, but they were in public and she hadn’t been feeling up for missions recently. She just wanted everything to be normal again, or at least to fake it. Artemis finally made her break the silence by dipping a fry in her chocolate shake.

“What was that?” Zatanna raised an eyebrow. Artemis dusted the salt off her fingers and looked back at her with an equally confused expression.

“What, you’ve never dipped fries in a milkshake?”

“Why would you make the specifically salty thing unsalty?” Z retorted. She forced herself to focus on anything besides the rumination.

“It doesn’t become unsalty. It’s the perfect balance of sweet and salty.” Artemis defended while exaggerating her next dip, keeping her eyes locked with Z’s. She celebrated silently as the corners of Zatanna’s mouth upturned into a slight smile.

Z picked up a fry and examined it, trying to decide if it was worth the risk of killing the perfectly delicious object for the sake of a rumored “balance of sweet and salty.”

“C’mon, try just one.” Artemis grinned. She placed another tainted fry in her mouth, closing her eyes in feigned bliss. “Mmmm…”

“Okay,” Z sighed, “if you stop harassing me.” Her whole hand had to come out of the sweatshirt to peel off the lid of her milkshake. In slow motion, the fry approached its doom, and then her mouth.

“...And?”

“Alright, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was gonna be.” A whole half of Zatanna’s mouth turned into a smile this time, and Artemis rejoiced.

“Just be thankful you didn’t have to witness Wally eating fries in a milkshake. Not as pretty.” 

Chatting about stupid little things was good for both of them. Artemis stopped feeling like everything she said was cringey, and Zatanna relaxed a little. She felt less like she was going through the motions and more like she was genuinely just hanging out.

Artemis was still wondering why she had been so nervous in the first place. It wasn't like they were on a date or anything. _Ugh, why did I even go there?_ Zatanna had just been torn away from her father. She deserved to be treated like a person right now, not as a silly infatuation. 

The conversation had gone silent for a moment, Zatanna staring out the window, Artemis fiddling with her earring and trying to stop her brain from running a mile a minute. 

“Did it hurt?” Z pulled them back out of the trance. 

“What?”

“Your earrings. Did it hurt when you got them done?” Zatanna looked genuinely curious.

“Nah, not too bad. You never got yours done?” 

Zatanna’s hands slid up to her earlobes, slightly self conscious. “Nope. My family is Jewish and we aren't too big on piercings or tattoos.” 

“Oh, I didn't know that. I actually didn't get mine done until last year. Other kids always thought I was weird for not having them, but I was too much of a tomboy I guess.” Artemis took out one of her earrings to look at it. She pretty much only wore these basic black ones. Anything else was too flashy for her. 

“Yeah, everyone thought I was weird too. But I just thought they were strange for wanting to stab a hole in themselves for fashion?” 

“Exactly!” Artemis laughed, but she had indeed succumbed to the peer pressure of it. Zatanna reached over and took the earring from her, the brush of their fingers making Artemis tense her muscles. She shuddered a little, annoyed with herself that even though Zatanna was a friend, she still wasn't comfortable with the contact. When she gave the earring back, Artemis steeled herself and felt like she didn’t visibly flinch that time.

The quiet had settled in again and Artemis knew it was her turn. She had brought Zatanna here to take her mind off things, but Z was doing all the work in the conversation and coming up with topics. Everyone else had skipped over the subject of missions when they had hung out with her, but it had been a month. Artemis felt like it might be time to try. 

“Hey Zatanna? Do you think you’d want to go back out with the team on our next mission? It’s just a quick, easy recon thing at S.T.A.R. Labs.” 

“When does the team ever do a quick, easy recon?” 

That made Artemis laugh. “I guess you’re right. We’re pretty bad at stealth, aren’t we.”

“We’re terrible.” Z rolled her eyes dramatically, but Artemis was glad she had said “we.” That meant she did consider herself part of the team. That was all she wanted to hear.

“So are you in?”

Zatanna knew she should try to move on. It was just easier said than done. Even though her father was protective of her, she thought he would’ve wanted her to make something of her life. She should be helping save the world. It just hurt to think about it. She could spend her life saving every person on the planet, but she was powerless to help him. The tears snuck back into the corners of her eyes so suddenly. There was nothing she could do but catch them with the sleeves of her sweatshirt.

Artemis could tell immediately, even though she tried to hide it. “Zatanna, you don’t have to go if you don’t want to or you’re not ready. I don’t want to pressure you-”

“No, I want to go.” Her face was still red, but the tears vanished in an instant. Zatanna caught Artemis in solemn eye contact. Artemis knew she was probably terrified and traumatized, but she couldn’t deny that some part of the Zatanna spark was back in her eyes. 

“Are you sure?” Artemis figured a normal person would reach out and touch Z’s hand at this point to reassure her, but all she could muster was extending her arm out on the table. Z met her halfway, pulling up her sweatshirt sleeve and squeezing Artemis’s hand. 

“I’m sure.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I made Zatanna Jewish and based her story off of a friend of mine who is Jewish. I want to write with representation, but if you feel it is insensitive or anything, please let me know!


	3. Just Dislocated

For what it was, S.T.A.R. Labs seemed a little too easy to break into. The team had a relatively straightforward mission: get in, corroborate the tip that certain files were missing, and get out. The simplicity of it gave Artemis the chills anyway. Robin tapped the security cams from the roof, timing it perfectly for Kaldur, Red Arrow, M’gann, Superboy, Artemis, and Zatanna to sneak in a window when the security guard shifts changed. Red Arrow, M’gann, and Superboy were checking a file room on the third floor, Kal, Z, and Artemis were to search the second floor, and KF and Robin stayed on the roof for fast backup and surveillance monitoring. 

Artemis had offered to partner with Zatanna at the briefing. Batman half raised an eyebrow and placed Kaldur with them casually, to keep an eye on her. Artemis didn’t blame him. He probably understood how she was feeling better than anyone.

As they descended the stairs from the roof, M’gann opened the psychic link. Artemis wasn't sure if everyone else could tell, but she could feel that the connection with Zatanna was different. The link often allowed feelings to leak from one person to another, and right when it was established, Artemis’s heart ached for a second, but then Z was mopping up the spill. 

The file room was cold, dry, and stale. It shared a glass wall with some kind of lab. Test tubes and centrifuges were lined up in between a standard eyewash station and a lot of advanced apparatuses Artemis didn’t recognize from her sophomore chemistry class. Kal crouched next to the doorframe to watch for security guards while Zatanna began opening drawers.

“What were the names on the files again?” She whispered to Artemis. 

“Roy Bivolo and Leonard Snart,” Artemis whispered back after climbing up onto one of the file cabinets. She had a bad feeling about this mission. That was at least the third time Zatanna had asked for the names again. She was… distracted, and it was worrying Artemis.

From her perch against the wall, she could see everything, but she still didn't feel in control. Kal gritted his teeth. Zatanna was muttering to herself. A helicopter buzzed past outside, the noise drowning out the breathing of her teammates and making it impossible to tell if that was footsteps in the hall or part of the chopper’s whir. 

“Hey!” Zatanna exclaimed, a little too loud for the mission. “Snart and Bivolo aren't missing. They're right here.” She held them up.

Artemis squinted. “Interesting.” Z opened up the Bivolo file and leafed through it. “Hey, we’re just supposed to see if they’re missing, not study them. C’mon, let’s go.” The chopper was flying past again, this time at a deafening roar, cutting off her words. _Put it back!_ She tried to yell over the link.

_Get down!_ Kaldur shouted, and suddenly the far wall exploded inward. Artemis barely got her arm up in time to shield her face from a massive shard of drywall. Her bow was loaded faster than her eyes adjusted to the bright light. 

Framed in the hole by the light of the helicopter, a mace at his side, was none other than Sportsmaster. _Of fucking course._

“Well, fancy meeting you here,” he snarled, drawing back his arm. Zatanna was frozen in the middle of the room, stuttering. Artemis could've shot him twice over by now, but the shock of her father melted her muscles. He was aiming to kill Zatanna with that mace. 

Her legs were pushing off the cabinet before she could even think. Artemis threw her whole body at Zatanna, deciding she'd rather break Z’s ribs than let her be bludgeoned by the very mace she'd been terrified of as a little girl training to be a villain. As she crashed into Z, the files were sent flying and the mace just caught Artemis’s quiver. They landed in a tangled heap on the floor in between two file cabinets, splintered arrows and papers raining down on them. Zatanna let out a pained ‘oof’ when the air left her lungs. The noise made Artemis shiver. 

Hey, she was touching someone without the alarms blaring in her head! _One small victory in this now mess of a mission,_ Artemis thought. 

The mace scratched the file cabinet above their heads again, shrieking as the spikes clawed the paint off the metal surface. Artemis rolled off of Zatanna and grabbed for her quiver. Her hand met with sharp, cracked wood, shards of plastic, and warped metal. _Shit! Rob, KF, a little help here?_

There was only one arrow intact. She could shoot the bent ones, but there was no guarantee they’d fly straight. _On it!_ Wally replied.

“Are you hiding, little girl? How characteristic of you.” Sportsmaster’s footsteps were coming closer. She had to do something. 

“Don't call me that,” Artemis spat, loading her last arrow and placing her body in between a coughing Zatanna and the disgusting sound of his voice. She heard the crack of the mace busting wood, but no noises of pain. She hoped that meant Kal wasn’t hurt. This one arrow really had to count. 

_Kaldur!_ Artemis begged. She loosed her arrow, through the glass wall, across the lab next door, and nailed the eyewash station. It erupted violently. The water curved unnaturally as Kaldur pulled it.

Artemis jumped up and relief flooded through her. Sportsmaster grunted as a glowing river barreled into him, sending him flying backwards over a cabinet. Kal only pummeled him harder. Artemis leapt over the file cabinet and saw a yellow blur whiz by and land a punch on her father’s chin. Backup had arrived. 

Sportsmaster quickly realized he was outnumbered and made a run for the helicopter. A flurry of Artemis’s bent arrows tried their best to get him before he got there, but they were impossible to aim. Her father disappeared into the night as quickly as he had arrived. 

_What the hell was he doing here?_ Wally whined over the psychic link. 

_Looks like our tip was a little cryptic. None of the files are missing, but it seems like they would've been had we not intercepted Sportsmaster._ Robin materialized in the doorway in classic fashion, M’gann, Superboy, and Red Arrow arriving behind him. 

_Let’s move out. With his entrance, the police will be here immediately. M’gann, call the bioship. We’ll discuss this later with the Batman._ Kaldur gave Artemis a look at the end of that sentence and nodded in Zatanna’s direction. Artemis helped her up.

“I think my arm is broken,” Z whispered just to Artemis.

“You're welcome.” 

Zatanna cried quietly as Artemis helped her out of the hole in the wall and into the bioship, but Artemis knew it wasn't the pain in her bones that was evoking the tears. 

* * * * * *

“Zatanna, maybe you should take some time off from the team. Relax. See your family. Get more sleep.” Black Canary placed a hand on her shoulder. She was trembling. Each team member had been debriefed individually by Canary and Batman, and Zatanna had been the last to go.

In between sniffles, she looked up at them and nodded. “I’ll… call my Aunt Arianna. It would be… nice to see her and my cousins again.” Zatanna let her hair fall in front of her eyes so she didn’t have to look at them. She hated letting the actual, real live Batman see her like this. He had been a friend of her father’s for ages, but he was still someone she looked up to like anyone else. 

Batman opened his mouth and closed it again with a sigh. Finding the words, his husky voice spoke, “Take as much time as you need, and figure out how you’re most valuable.” The statement was coded, but Zatanna knew he meant she was under no pressure to ever return if she wasn’t going to be an asset. This life wasn’t for everyone, but never before had she thought it wasn’t for her. That used to be her father’s job. Now the doubt was everywhere, seeping into her aching bones and filling her mind with a images of her dad’s last smile before the helmet ate away his face.

Artemis was waiting for her when she returned to her new room. Zatanna had expected her to be back at home by now. Honestly, she just wanted to cry alone in her room right now, but it was nice of Artemis to be here.

“Hey, how’s the arm?” Artemis pointed to the sling. “I’m sorry, I should’ve shot him with an arrow before it got to that point, but I was worried it wouldn’t hit him in time for the mace to not still come flying at you and I just thought-”

“Artemis, I’m fine. My shoulder was just dislocated and I’ve got a few bruises on my ribs. Nothing a week off won’t heal. I’m gonna go stay at my aunt’s place in Wisconsin for a bit.” Zatanna dropped her eyes again.

“ _Just_ dislocated!? Zatanna, I did this to you! I should’ve…” Imagining the scenario over again made her stomach turn. Artemis clenched her fist, letting her nails dig into the palm of her hand. _I should’ve shot my father._

“Thank you Artemis. You saved my life.” The tears had returned again. _These damn tears just don’t know when to quit,_ Z thought. “I was being stupid, and it’s not your fault.”

“No, it is!” Artemis found her voice yelling all the sudden. Zatanna’s eyes widened as she saw the anger pour out of her friend. “I… I encouraged you to go on this mission when you weren’t ready. I know things are hard for you right now, and I was being selfish, and then I fucked up...” All of the sudden, Artemis felt a lot like Superboy, like she was new to this whole life thing. Except that she wasn’t. She turned away.

“Artemis,” Zatanna called. “Artemis, don’t do this, okay? I know I’ve got a lot of issues right now, and I can’t remember the last time I went five minutes without thinking about my dad, a prisoner in his own body. But I’m your friend, and there is obviously something else bothering you. Something since before our girls’ night out. Don’t bottle shit up because of me. I was useless on the mission today but I don’t want to be useless. Let me help you.”

Artemis couldn’t remember the last time she had cried. She forced back the welling in her eyes before she turned back to face Zatanna. Half of her was screaming, _don’t do it, don’t do it_ and the other half wanted her to reach out and touch Z. She hated asking for help. She hated receiving it. No one had been there for her as a kid, and she hadn’t trusted anyone again.

“My family, they’ve done some bad shit, and they’ve made me do some bad shit.” The words fell from her and she clambered for them as soon as they hit the air, desperate to take them back, but knowing full well that this was permanent. 

The silence was heavy to Artemis. It felt like Zatanna waited days to part her lips. She blinked in slow motion. Hearing her name, Artemis snapped out of it.

“Artemis, you saved my life today.” Zatanna smiled through her tears. The words took their sweet time in the processing centers of Artemis’s mind, but that was honestly all she needed to hear. She found herself smiling and crying too.

“Shit! What the fuck?” She yelled, hiding her face from Z and trying to wipe the tears away. “I don’t fuckin’ cry.” Artemis was laughing off her denial. 

“Everyone cries, silly.” Zatanna laughed with her. They stood there, alone in Mount Justice, laughing through their tears, releasing tension built up for days, weeks, and years. 

Artemis hated crying, but it was a good, cathartic cry. She had barely told Z the extent of her family history, but it was more than she’d ever opened up about in her whole life. Maybe Artemis lived on Gotham. Maybe her family was comprised of criminals. Maybe she grew up very alone. But right here, right now, she was home.

“Hey Ironic Arrow?”

“Yeah?”

“Wanna come with me this week? Wanna come stay at my aunt’s place in Wisconsin? They live on a little lake you can swim in.” Zatanna looked up at her, that small glint in her eye reminding Artemis how fast her mind was always working, always plotting, running a million miles a minute. She was taken aback. No one had ever invited her to do something like this. She’d never been to Wisconsin, or swum in a lake, or stayed at a friend’s house for that long. 

Who would miss her? The team didn’t have any missions lined up, and they could probably do without her in an emergency now that Red Arrow was on the team. Her mom would be delighted that she was making friends. School was out for the summer. Why not?

“Zatanna, I’d… I’d love to. Are you sure your aunt would be okay with that?” Artemis’s heart was beating terribly fast all of the sudden.

“Absolutely!” Zatanna grinned. She wanted to get away from the mission life for a little while, but Artemis wasn’t just part of the team to her. She felt like she couldn’t leave Artemis behind.


End file.
